BONES Recap: ‘The Murder in the Middle East’

Hello BONES fans! I really liked this episode, “The Murder in the Middle East.” How about you? I’m not saying every moment made me happy of course, but I think in some episodes (and some entire episodes) there can be moments of fluff or unnecessary parts. This episode didn’t waste a second or minute and was strong throughout. Plus, one of Aubrey’s lines is now one of my all time favorite BONES lines ever! For this, and more—read on!

THE CASE:

The Scene of the Crime: In Iran, a man’s body is pushed down a flight of stairs. Arastoo is there visiting his ill brother, and his reputation as a forensic anthropologist leads him to be abducted by a member of parliament to solve the case. Arastoo agrees to the demands and quickly determines the victim is young, male, that he suffered from bite marks from an animal, and is related to Arastoo’s abductor.

The Victim: Darius Namazi, a young reformer in favor of democracy in Iran, against the wishes of his father Majid Namazi.

The Case Progression:

Because Cam was on the phone with Arastoo when he was abducted, she enlists Booth’s help right away. He is able to pull strings with the CIA and FBI and gets himself and Cam on a trip to Iran. When they arrive, they are greeted by Hooshmand (one name, like Beyonce)—a friend of Danny Woodburn’s. He offers them his help and directs them to a car, where Majid is waiting. Majid offers them plane tickets home in return for their safety. Annoyed, Booth quickly realizes that if Majid wants Arastoo safe, he must need him…and therefore he needs THEM too. He offers a deal; he will help with the investigation, Cam will help on the case, and when completed, they will all return home safely.

At the lab, Angela, Hodgins, and Aubrey trace Arastoo’s phone call information to an abandoned medical facility. Once Booth and Cam are there, Arastoo is shocked, but eventually they are all able to connect through video conference to work the case. They quickly confirm it is a murder and want to leave, but Majid insists they stay and help catch the murderer.

Darius had alcohol in his system when he was dead, much to the dismay of his father. Booth also works with Darius’s cousin, Officer Sanjar Zamani. Sanjar is much more traditional than Darius. Booth and Majid visit the bank where Darius worked and talk with Omid Turan, a friend of the family. He is furious that Majid has employed Booth, an American, but he does tell them that Darius was nervous about an upset customer, a contractor who wanted a loan but was refused.

When 3D printing of bone scans leads Brennan to wonder if Darius was hit by a 2×4 piece of wood, Booth and Sanjar pull the contractor, Yasser Kashani, in for questioning. It’s unique in that Booth requires Sanjar to do all of his interpreting, and through subtitles, we can see that Sanjar is less than honorable in his translation—perhaps he has something to hide? Yasser admits he went to Darius’s house, but he didn’t see him or kill him. Instead, he saw a blonde woman with small Dachshund dogs leave the house.

At the lab, the team discusses the possibilities of dogs, and Hodgins remarks that they would need a passport to travel. Meanwhile, Cam has found blonde hairs and vaginal fluid on Darius’s remains. Booth and Sanjar bring Oksana Kozlov in for questioning. She admits the dogs were hers, and she had them flown back to Russia to not be killed. She says she and Darius were in love. This is hard for Sanjar to hear. She insists she and Darius argued, and she left, and when she came back a few days later, Darius was dead, and her dogs were biting at the remains. Ew. Booth is considering her testimony when Majid comes in and escorts both men out of the room. Because of the information about Darius, he now does not want the case to be solved.

Booth goes back to Cam and Arastoo and encourages them to pack things up. But they want to solve the murder, especially when Angela produces information that a text notification was sent to Darius’s computer…after he was dead. It is traced back to Sanjar, and Booth has a new suspect.

The officer insists he was only trying to protect his cousin from his father’s scorn. He knew all about Oksana and the drinking, and Majid would be upset by it. He figured there would be no harm in taking Darius’s private computer and hiding it. Just then, Majid arrives and warns Booth that the Iranian police are coming for him, Cam, and Arastoo, and they must pack up and leave within the hour.

Hodgins and Angela wonder if this means Majid is the killer and only wanted Arastoo’s help to see just how far forensics would go toward implicating him. Booth wants to shut down the investigation, but Brennan and Arastoo continue to compare the damage on Darius’s body caused by falling down the stairs. They realize that his injuries match up with being thrown down rounded edged stairs and squared off stairs. Booth remembers that the bank where Darius worked had a second set of steps.

The Verdict: Angela uncovers more info from Darius’s computer and realizes he was putting together evidence for embezzlement charges against Omid. Just as the team prepares to take action, the police enter the Iranian medical room. Just when it seems like THEY will be in danger at gunpoint, Hooshmand arrives and whisks Booth, Cam, and Arastoo to safety. He and Booth go make the arrest.

THE SQUINTS

I liked how Hodgins and Angela worked this case. I also like that neither one of them prodded Brennan for more information when she was clearly uneasy about something. We knew it was Booth, but I was glad they just moved on with the case.

The Cam and Arastoo moments were good. I thought the plot of his brother’s illness was wrapped up fairly quickly, but the end scene where they all three talked was a nice moment. I was glad Arastoo’s danger was related to a case and not some other political issue. And I liked that Cam and Arastoo worked the case together. The whole “These acts of defiance are in the name of love!” argument doesn’t really hold up politically, in my opinion. It’s not like that would really change the mind of a steadfast Iranian parliament member, but it was fine for this episode.

Regarding Aubrey, I liked that he acknowledged he wasn’t feeling useful on the case. When Brennan eventually confided in him about Booth, it was clear he felt useful again. While on a high level, this is an issue the show has to deal with (if he’s not part of the plot—he shouldn’t be in the episodes!), in terms of this storyline, it worked. I loved the moment where Brennan told him it wasn’t his problem, and he responded by saying, “If I can help, it is.” That is one of my life mantras, if you will—if someone is in need, and I have the means to help, it is my responsibility to! I know I personally can continue to grow in that way. Also loved Aubrey interrogating Jimmy, Booth’s bookie. (Sidenote: I thought Matt Burns was excellent as the smarmy Jimmy.)

BOOTH & BRENNAN:

First of all, I thought Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz were once again great in this episode. It’s also fun having Sunnie Pelant (Christine) in several episodes; I think she has done a nice job. The “I don’t tell strangers my name. I tell strangers that my daddy works for the FBI” line was hilarious and so totally a Booth thing to instill in a kid. Haha!

Secondly, I loved the little second of banter they had about the word “wicked” regarding baseball. Very fun and flirty.

I have had concerns about the gambling storyline, particularly wondering how the show was going to do it justice and wrap it up for a possible series end. I shared with friends the other day on Twitter that knowing there is a season 11 (GO BONES!) has greatly reduced this anxiety for me, which is nice. Having said that, I’m still not convinced I will like how this storyline plays out, but for me it is too soon to tell. It’s definitely difficult to see Brennan and Booth at odds in such a tough situation, but I don’t really want to make any predictions or final judgments on their actions just yet. How about you–what are your thoughts so far?

What did you think of this episode all in all? And remember, BONES is off next week for a two-episode showing of WAYWARD PINES, but will return from May 28th to June 11th with three straight episodes!

Comments

21 Responses to “BONES Recap: ‘The Murder in the Middle East’”

Linda on
May 14th, 2015 9:57 pm

I am hopeful, that given the show had completed shooting before the renewal came in, that they resolve the gambling issue as far as they might, with Booth returning to Gamblers Anonymous and Brennan letting him move back in by the final episode of this season.
I believe the scene where Brennan confronts Booth about his addiction and calling him on his lie will lead to him facing what he has to lose by continuing and seek the help he needs.
Now, with a Season 11 guaranteed, the new showrunners can take the opportunity to show Booth as he works through his addiction and recovery at the start of next season.

anon on
May 14th, 2015 10:09 pm

The Iran stuff was good…the way they wrote the gambling plot just pissed me off….The bookie narrative was beyond contrived to make Aubrey relevant in the ep and to make Booth look in the worst light possible…If thats how Brennan deals with Booth when he slips up and steps outside of her perfect man fanasty, Booth who has done nothing but love her and support her, then I am ok if Booth never returns home once he is in recovery, he deserves better than a wife who kicks him to the kurb, who has no compassion or understanding of an addicts struggle…imagine being married to someone whose answer is to kick you out when the going gets tough…This gambling plot is now a trainwreck, I knew they wouldnt be able to write it with the respect it deserves…B&B deserve better, fans deserve better…And whats worse Stephen Nathan thought this was a good idea to do ep 19 in the season and with no renewal at that time of shooting…what the hell did Bones fans do to deserve that kinda of FU ?

Jess on
May 14th, 2015 10:54 pm

The only thing I know now is that Booth is a liar. I don’t watch TV to watch liars. This show is deleted for me. I can’t believe I wasted ten years on a show about a liar.

Karen on
May 15th, 2015 1:18 am

Lying is part of addiction. If you stop watching you are going to miss seeing this loving couple work through this ans be stronger in the end because of it. Anon you are overlooking one important thing. She gave him the opportunity to come clean. If he had I doubt she would have thrown him out. She is loving him the only way he is going to understand right now. She is making him face what he has done and what he can lose. Until he does that there is no fixing this problem. GMMR, I am pretty sure they were talking about Danny Beck with the CIA and Alex Rodzwell (Danny Woodburn) of the state department

anon on
May 15th, 2015 4:32 am

Not once did Brennan even ask Booth why he fell off the wagon AFTER 10+ years….I would ask a friend that never mind my husband…Rewatching that end scene just leaves me cold, which ironically is about how much emotion Emily emoted, she did not sell that scene as loving wife, more like a person who cant be bothered enquiring or caring about an addict and his relapse…all I got was Brennan was butthurt that Booth lied to her, nothing about him…what a shocker an addict lying…was it too hard for her to grasp that Booth is lying is part of his addiction, throwìng back in his face that he didnt love her was another low blow…right this second I dont even care if they fix things…who wants a marriage like how that was framed in the end scene. …also I have doubts that Booths recovery is even about him facing hìs inner demons of why he relapsed, going by that end scene its more like about grovelling to regain Brennans trust….just another excuse to trash Booths character to make Brennan shine. UGH

Lois on
May 15th, 2015 9:11 am

Brennan was super in this episode. She did what she had to do to protect herself and her daughter and she did what Booth needed. He lied. He is still not facing the truth. Perhaps in some hotel room he will face that truth. He needs to seek the help. She can’t take his hand and lead him there. She did clean up his money mess. I didn’t hear him say thank you.
She was left to face his bookie while he ran around Iran playing FBI agent. I found that whole story very contrived. And I still do not like Cam and Aristoo. They do nothing for me. In fact, Aristoo did not seem in danger at all when they arrived. It was a very weak story and it took up too much time.
Very little emphasis was on B&B. They got only a couple minutes to confront the issue at the very end.
I agree, it’s hard to tell how they will redeem Booth. I will wait and see on that one.
But how can Brennan trust him at this point? He looked at her and lied point blank. If she just let him have a pass, it’s called enabling.
Go Brennan! And a shout out to Aubrey for been very nice and supportive this episode!

amy on
May 15th, 2015 9:32 am

The same way that Booth had to learn how to trust Brennan after you know she lied to his face in the season 7 finale, betrayed his trust and ran of with their baby without a word…or that time Brennan promised Booth that their partnership was so important to her then she broke it up and ran off to malkuka….you do realize that Booth is an relapsed addict? his behavior stems from his issues and its nothing to do with setting out to hurt Brennan…I actually care why Booth has relapsed, why a good man turned to gambling, Brennan getting lied to is a by product of that…Brennan married an addict not a saint…reality check.

bountypeaches on
May 15th, 2015 11:16 am

Amy– where did Brennan “lie” to Booth at the end of S7? She left with the baby, yes…but she made sure Max was there so that Booth knew the truth. She couldn’t directly tell him otherwise he would’ve been an accomplice and thus never be allowed to work at the FBI again– but she also apologized for how he must’ve felt. And Maluku– Brennan asked him for permission— if Booth had a problem he should’ve said something. And as if Booth has never lied to Brennan before. Even in S6– they talked about him lying to spare his feelings.

In this instance, Brennan, point blank, told him they have nothing if they don’t have the truth. She gave him an opportunity to redeem himself but he chose not to take it. You can’t mollycoddle a relapsed addict who is still in denial. Asking why he has relapsed does nothing because Booth hasn’t admitted to himself that he has relapsed, yet. She needed to be harsh because otherwise she would be enabling his addiction. You saw how he came and said he could fix this– he was still lying.

amy on
May 15th, 2015 12:00 pm

The latter part of the ep Booth and the gang and Caroline ALL thought Brennan was handing her self into the police….when in fact she & Max plotted and schemed that after the christening she was running off with the baby without telling anyone….that is a big fat lie in my book, she absolutely lied, she said she was doing one thing and she did another…I dont care about the reasoning behind it, she lied her ass off to Booth for most of the ep…Brennan values the truth, well there was NO truth in saying you were going to hand yourself in and then made yourself into a fugitive and ripping a small child away from its father…THIS is my pov, you wont change my mind on it, I know you are a hardcore Brennan stan to a fault. So lets just agree to have our own pov.

bountypeaches on
May 15th, 2015 1:11 pm

Brennan can’t ask Booth, why he fell of the wagon– he hasn’t admitted to himself he has fallen off the wagon. He still thinks this isn’t a problem– that’s why he lied. That’s part of addiction. Brennan can’t mollycoddle Booth when he is not admitting something is a problem– he is just going to tell her more lies. He, himself, has to see what he is doing is a problem.

It like in S4, Booth kept bailing Jared out and all that did was make him drink more. Booth did the right thing by telling Jared he wasn’t going to step in anymore. Addicts need to be faced with the consequences of their actions or else they won’t stop.

Also if addicts could tell why they fell of the wagon, they wouldn’t have fallen off the wagon in the first place? That only happens later. The first step is actually admitting its a problem– then you work from there.

I liked it because we are all human and this is reality things like this happen in families every day sadly and people do lie we are not perfect. We all know Booth is a good man and he has a problem with gambling. It is something he must face every day and now Bones must face it too. I think it will effect their marriage greatly but they both love each other and in a way he has cheated on her not with another woman but with his addiction which has gotten the better of him, now he must win back her trust and faith in him. He has scattered her inside crushed her to the core he is the one man who she has ALWAYS been able to count on and look to for support and for advice and now HE is the one she needs to be supported from and have advice to work through this problem. Some people would walk away from a marriage others would fight for their home and family. It will bring up many things for Booth to face what he did to his wife and his family and to himself. They will have a long road ahead but they will make it because they love each other and apart of marriage is for better or worse. This is a realistic storyline even though we don’t want to see Booth’s character tarnished he is above all human and not a super FBI agent. Kudos to writer Michael Peterson who is now co showrunner at Bones a job well done.

Laura Opper on
May 15th, 2015 6:46 pm

I think when some one has an addiction you have to set limits in a similar way that you would with a child. I don’t intend to demean anyone, but as a parent you cannot give in to every request your child has, and you have to teach them not to lie. You have to set rules and boundaries, or you become an enabler and the child runs amok. In this case, Booth is in some ways running amok, and Brennan has to set boundaries to protect her child and herself. If she has to kick him out to get his attention, then that’s what she has to do. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love him, or that he doesn’t love her. It is gong to be tough but married folks who love each other work things out, no matter how difficult it become or how long it takes. Neither one of them is perfect, and that’s why I enjoy this show so much. I don’t want perfection, I want something more real.

Diane on
May 16th, 2015 1:56 am

I still wish they would put more focus back on B&B where it belongs! We probably won’t get to see B&B work this out, since they only get 2 or 3 little scenes in the whole show! That is still ruining Bones for me – I have always watched it for Booth and Brennan. Now, they don’t have enough air time together to really have any chemistry at all. They have been like secondary characters; what a WASTE of what was supposed to be a milestone season! I still don’t care about Cam and her intern lover; I would rather see more Angela and Hodgins! I wouldn’t mind Aubrey so much if he had not been the CENTER OF ATTENTION THIS WHOLE LOUSY SEASON!! Get back to BOOTH AND BRENNAN!!!

flashback on
May 16th, 2015 2:48 am

Growing up I lived with an addict….A gambling abusive drunk. I also lived with a mother who unfortunately didn’t have Brennan’s courage.
Yes, it is difficult to watch Brennan be forced to kick her husband out of their home, but it would be worse if she didn’t. She has to put her children first. Booth’s actions and choices affected the safety of their daughter and unborn child, that is not and never will be, ok. Brennan had to put their well being ahead of her marriage and Booth realized this, and that is why he left so calmly.
Brennan is handling the situation the best she can for her children. It is clear how much she loves Booth, if she didn’t, she would have let him stay and she would have ignored his problem. Gambling is an addiction and it is imparing Booth’s judgement and morals. Brennan is helping him the best way she can by putting their children first.
It is extremely hard to watch and I only hope this family gets the happy ending that mine didn’t.

I really think both Emily and David did a good job and I know they will just get even better.

amy on
May 16th, 2015 11:43 am

@diane I couldnt agree more…Stephen Nathan said he decided to cut back on B&B and give them to other people…and we can all see how much a bad choice that was in ratings & fan feedback…I think this has been the most hated on season since S6 imo…B&B are the center of the show, but in this season they are so far pushed to the margins you can barely see a scene with them in it together…I dont give one crap about the DAY OF OUR LIVES squinterns drama or Aubrey “I must be in every other scene even when there is no point of me being in them” GET BACK TO FOCUSING ON B&B…. fyi @sarah did you notice yet AGAIN that Aubrey is an expert on something else, this time in surveilance. This is 100x worse than forcing Sweets into the narrative just to make him relevant…STOP IT WRITERS

Candy on
May 16th, 2015 2:30 pm

This ep was horrid, destroying Booth is the way to prop up Brennan and her new bff Aubrey? Not in my book, made no sense to have Aubrey be Brennan’s savior, Max would know the ins and out much better than jr FBI agent and what this “Hi, it’s me” like Aubrey was her boyfriend. Booth was off helping save one of Brennan’s squints ONCE again and then Brennan would not even listen to a explanation before she kicks him out. Booth deserves better, run, Booth, run.

Diane on
May 16th, 2015 5:13 pm

They are too busy giving Aubrey the lead (hero) role that they don’t have time left in the episode for BOOTH AND BRENNAN! How are they planning to fix this – 5 minutes a week split into 2 scenes; that ought to take them about 20 years to right the ship with any quality at all! However, this season they haven’t been too concerned about quality. What a bunch of crap! Aubrey has become dominant in the show this season, and that is not what has made Bones great all these years! Quit making the supporting cast the focal point of the show!!!!!! Ps. I still don’t give a flying crap about Cam and her sqintern!

paladin117 on
May 16th, 2015 6:12 pm

Hate Cam and Arastoo.So glad that Stephan Nathan is gone since he was at the helm for the worst ratings slide in Bones history.It’s no coincidence he’s gone.He ruined Bones and everyone knows it.

paladin117 on
May 16th, 2015 6:17 pm

Also,if they had gotten a early renewal,this would have been the season finale.

Lailah on
May 17th, 2015 10:04 pm

As someone who has known several addicts, I think the show writers did well for Brennan. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want help, especially if they don’t think they have a problem. They won’t admit it, get help, or start to change until they see the consequences of their actions. For some, that’s getting kicked out of their house and for others (such as alcoholics or drug addict) it’s waking up in a hospital bed. As for asking him why, if he’s not admitting he has a problem he’s not going to answer that question. But I think the trigger is pretty clear considering he went undercover gambling in a recent episode. You don’t hand an alcoholic a drink and you don’t have a gambling addict gamble, no matter how long they’ve been clean. He’s been clean for so long because he generally keeps himself away from temptation, but he got cocky and thought he could handle it for the case. Clearly, he couldn’t. Brennan is just showing him tough love and trying to keep her daughter safe. If a bookie came to your house and threatened your child because you’re SO owed them $30,000 due to gambling I think you may come to the same conclusion to keep your child, and future child safe. Brennan is pregnant, which means if the situation doesn’t get solved and Booth doesn’t seek help, he could be putting two children in danger. She did what she did because she thought it was best for her family, and I can respect that.

kmw on
May 19th, 2015 4:05 pm

This story is not about propping one character up above another. I do not hate Booth because he went to gambling again and I certainly don’t hate Brennan for kicking him out. This also not about destroying Booth’s character. He has had a rough year and gone thru a lot of trauma. He has always been a cocky character and once he got into the gambling again he decided he could control it which is a delusion addicts have. Brennan cannot just act like he didn’t put them in danger. If she just tried to help him at home it wouldn’t have worked. Remember she is a mother and she has a baby on the way and child to protect. What she did was out of total love and respect for Booth. Brennan is a smart woman who knows even she has limits. She cannot help Booth with this. Booth is going to realize, sooner rather than later that he needs help and he will get it. They will get thru this together. Since Bones is getting another year Booth has plenty of time to make Brennan see that he indeed loves her. David and Emily are always terrific and this was no exception although yes they should have had more scenes. The second half of this season has been better than the first half and maybe new show runners will emphasize them better next year